Cultist's Revenge
by Petchricor
Summary: Max kept saying he wanted David dead. He never really meant it
1. Not Your Fault

**TW: blood and death  
**

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Max knew he'd fucked up when David didn't show up for dinner. He'd tortured David all summer long and he'd taken it with more grace than any other adult Max ever had to deal with. But as he picked at his slop Max started to wonder if setting fire to the counselor's cabin had been too far. No one else seemed too concerned, except maybe Gwen but that was mostly because she was overwhelmed trying to keep the kids in line and wanted David's help.

Once dinner was over they were all supposed to go swimming, which Max always snuck away from. He was headed straight for his tent as usual when he stopped, an eery feeling filling his stomach. He had the sudden urge to find David and find him _now_. Grabbing his backpack just in case the idiot had hurt himself and he needed a bandage he headed off.

He checked the cabin first, figured maybe he was crying over it like a sap. Not there. He checked the dining hall just in case he decided to eat after they left. Still nothing. He went to the docks to see if he'd gone back to the others. After a bit of squinting from afar and seeing nothing but the other campers and Gwen, he moved on. He checked the main campfire. He found the guitar, but not David. He felt his chest tighten and told himself it wasn't worried, even if he did walk a little faster.

"David?!" he called out into the forest. "David, come on man, this isn't funny!" No response. He groaned and headed into the forest. He was probably crying like a giant fucking baby as usual. He was fine, David got run over by a bus and was fine, he was overreacting. Max stopped as he heard voices talking a little ways away. Bending down like that'd make him quieter Max continued towards the voices.

"You dont look so good, maybe I should take you back to the hospital," David said. Max ducked behind a log and carefully looked over, feeling his blood run cold when he spotted Daniel standing across from David. He had a gun clearly sticking out of his pants and he looked pissed. Fuck. "Daniel? You've been awful quiet, is something on your-"

"God will you just SHUT UP!" Daniel snapped. He pulled the gun out and aimed it at David, who had enough brains to at least look concerned. "You're such a god damn idiot, thinking we're friends and I'm not a fucking murderer!" David took a step back, eyes locked on the gun as Daniel cocked it. His concern quickly turned to fear. "Here's what's going to happen, I'm going to kill you, and then I'm going to kill the rest of those brats at that stupid camp."

"What? No!" David shouted, taking a step towards Daniel. "I can't let you do that!" Daniel scoffed and rolled his eyes. It was so fast and yet it seemed to go in slow motion as David lunged for Daniel. _BANG!_ Max's mouth opened in a silent scream as David stopped mid-motion and fell face first to the ground. He ducked behind the log, shaking as he tried not to make a sound.

"What a shame," Daniel drawled lazily. "You were such a sweetheart, I wish you'd held still so it wouldn't hurt. Oh well, your loss." Max listened to the receding footsteps until they were out of range before leaping over the log and bolting for David, who was staring up at the sky with a hand on his bleeding abdomen.

"David, oh my fucking god!" Max screeched, falling to his knees beside him. David's gaze shifted over to him, looking confused. "Jesus Christ, why couldn't you just use your fucking head and stay away from the psycho you idiot?!" Max moved the other's hand and took a look at the wound. He felt like he was going to hurl. There was blood absolutely everywhere and the flow wasn't stopping. David was going to bleed out and there was nothing that sorry excuse for a med kit Max had was going to do about it.

"M...Max?" David said, his voice so quiet it was almost painful. That's not how David should sound, David was loud and annoying and used too many words in a single sentence. Max swallowed down a whimper and grabbed the largest bandage he had in his backpack, pressing it to the wound. He remembered something about pressure helping to stop blood in that stupid class David made them all take. "Max?"

"Yeah, it's me you fucking moron!" Max snapped, trying to tell himself he was not crying even as his vision blurred and his eyes stung. "You dumbass, getting yourself shot by a fucking cultist! I fucking told you he was a murderer, why couldn't you just listen to me for once?!" David actually laughed a little, but he wasn't smiling. The lack of a smile made Max feel cold on the inside.

"Max." David reached a hand out to rest on Max's shoulder, making him jump and look over at him. "It's not your fault, Max." The man was bleeding out and his first instinct was to reassure Max of all things. It went right to his cold heart and warmed it despite everything, but Max still denied he was crying over his stupid camp counselor.

"How dare you fucking say that like you're gonna die! You're not gonna die! You're gonna live and then you're gonna give me a long lecture about how my medical attention is shitty, and then you're gonna show me how to do it properly, damn it!" Max screamed. David's hand reached up to pat the other's cheek, thumb weakly trying to brush away his tears.

"Language," he wheezed. The hand lost its strength a little and rested back on his arm. Max looked away and back at his own hands, now covered in blood. Fuck. "Max."

"What is it now you fucking nerd?" Max swallowed heavily, his throat feeling like it was being squeezed. The hand lightly patted his arm and Max reluctantly looked over. David was smiling at him. It was small and fond, a smile he'd only ever gotten from David.

"I'm glad, you're here." He sounded so weak and frail, like he was barely hanging on. "I'm sorry, I couldn't make you happy, Max. You, deserve that." Max gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away. The hand slowly slid away. Max opened his eyes and turned his head. David had his eyes closed and head tilted to the side, hand resting back on his still chest. Max screamed and pounded his fists on David's chest angrily.

"Damn you, David!" He was sobbing heavily, barely able to make words passed them. "Always so fucking...so fucking, _patient_ and kind and, and...FUCK! You made me happy you idiot! I gave you so much shit and you...you actually still _wanted_ me to be here! Fuck, you were _happy_ I was here! No one ever...no one...FUCK!" Max shook him, even though he knew it wasn't going to do anything. "This isn't funny, David, wake the fuck up you...you idiot..." There was nothing. Of course there was nothing.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Max knew he had to go. Daniel was after the camp and he had a huge head start. But he couldn't just leave David, not like this. He didn't deserve that, being left with the possibility of being eaten by wild animals. And yet, Max knew that David would deem that stupid camp and its occupants more important.

Fuck.

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 **That's a wrap!**

 **Thanks for reading, please review, be good and if you can't be good dont get caught**


	2. Run Boy Run

**TW: drowning**

 **this story is going to have on more chapter and then a short prologue (with a surprise!)  
**

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It was raining. No, scratch that, it was pouring. It felt like buckets were being poured from the sky onto him, soaking right through his hoodie and into his bones. Some part of Max felt that, somehow, it should be poetic. Like the mood was being set as he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him to get back before Daniel. He didn't really feel poetic though. He felt more like he should drown in the rain and die alongside David after causing this. If he hadn't started that stupid fire…

Max shook his head to clear the thoughts. He didn't have time to be thinking like that. He could guilt trip himself about all that later when the other campers were safe and Daniel was dead. Well, hopefully. Max didn't want to count his chickens before they hatched and he'd consider himself lucky if the bastard ended up in jail when all was said and done. He was totally going to try and kill him first though.

Max cleared the forest, panting and soaked to the bone. His eyes searched for the other campers, feeling a surprising amount of relief when he spotted the dining hall lights on with Gwen in clear view, yelling as usual. He got here first, thank god. He bolted for the hall, gagging when the back of his hoodie was grabbed and yanked on. He was twisted around harshly and thrown face first into the mud, hands burying deep into it.

"Did you _really_ think you could have gotten here first, Max?" The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, that voice was just as cold and creepy as Max remembered. He quickly got to his feet, whipping around the face Daniel. He was grinning wickedly down at Max, his pearly white shirt soaked and see-through at this point. He didn't have a weapon in his hands, yet. "Honestly, you're _ten_ , did you think you were being sneaky hiding behind that log? You couldn't have been more obvious had you actually managed to scream."

"Fuck off!" Max grabbed the nearest rock and threw it at Daniel, not the least surprised when it missed by a mile. Daniel looked very unimpressed. He did that creepy head tilt thing and Max winced at the awful crack it made. He advanced towards him and Max scrambled backward, desperately trying to stay upright as his heels dug into the mud and nearly tripped him up.

"But, hey, I'm glad I caught you here!" Daniel said, voice filled with mock cheer. His grin stretched wide and he pointed his pistol straight at Max's chest, finger hovering over the trigger. "I sure hope you liked David, because you're going to be joining him." Max turned away and squeezed his eyes shut. This was it, he couldn't outrun a bullet. He held his breath, awaiting the moment Daniel pulled the trigger.

 _Click._

Nothing happened. Max hesitated a moment before opening one eye to peer over at Daniel. He was cursing to himself, smacking the butt of the gun against his hand before pulling the trigger again, earning another uneventful click.

He was out of ammo. Max's eyes widened at the realization before he stumbled back, letting himself fall into the mud as he tried to catch his breath. Holy fuck. Holy fuck, he almost died. Daniel almost shot him. Holy fucking shit.

Daniel growled in frustration before tossing the empty pistol aside, bringing back his unsettling grin. "You know what? This is fine! I don't need a gun to get rid of you."

"You sure about that?" Max asked as he pushed himself back onto his feet. His voice wavered slightly as he spoke, though the sarcastic tone was impossible to miss. Damn it, his legs were still shaking. "I'm not afraid of some dumbass that can't even remember to load his own gun before trying to murder a fucking ten year old."

"Now, Max," Daniel said, voice smooth and soft as if he wasn't about to murder him. "You really should watch your mouth." Max screamed and ducked to the side when Daniel sliced at him with a knife that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Max scrambled to his feet and bolted in a random direction, pretending the knife didn't nick the back of his hoodie. "Get back here!"

"Yeah fucking right, psycho!" Max cried over his shoulder, flipping the other off out of habit. He headed for the camping grounds, swerving his way between the tents to avoid being sliced. He screeched and ducked as Daniel came out of nowhere from his side and swung the knife at him. He missed narrowly, knife catching on the tent Max had been weaving passed. He used the two seconds it took Daniel to free his knife to duck under his arm and get away.

Max ripped his hoodie off and threw it behind him, grinning in satisfaction when Daniel screamed in frustration. Bullseye! Max leapt over Preston's prop chest, which he would have totally missed if he didn't know it was there. Daniel had no idea it was there. He tripped over it and fell face first into the mud with an angry yell. Max grinned.

"SUCKER!" Max turned back to where he was going, weaving through the trees towards the fire pit. He grabbed the metal poker and ducked behind one of the trees. Daniel ran into the clearing, looking very confused, and Max seized his opportunity to stab him in the foot with the poker. Daniel let out a girlish scream that would've put David to shame and Max bolted.

"Mother fucker!" Daniel screamed as he tore the poker out of his foot and ran after him.

"I know you are but what am I!" Max cackled, unable to help himself. He skidded and turned left as he came to the shore, running alongside it and towards the docks. He could hear Daniel hot on his tail and he knew damn well he was running out of tricks. Time for the last one. He leapt over the water and onto the dock, waving his arms around as he slipped and nearly lost his balance.

Max turned and backed away as Daniel stood at the other end of the dock, blocking his path back to camp. "Ha! I've got you now, _brat._ " Max backed up slowly, watching Daniel as he approached and keeping an eye on his feet with his peripherals. "You think you're so clever, having outsmarted me once. But not this time." Max smirked and placed his hands on his hips, feeling satisfied when Daniel scowled. "What are you smiling about?"

"You're so fucking stupid, Daniel," Max said mockingly, placing his foot on top of the anchor beside him. "And you really should watch your footing." At that Daniel looked down, but by the time he noticed the rope around his foot Max had already kicked the anchor into the water. The rope tightened around Daniel's foot before he could react and it pulled him towards the water.

Max's ankle was grabbed in an iron grip without warning and he screamed as he fell face first onto the dock, hard. Max latched onto one of the posts, clinging for dear life. Daniel was using him to try and climb back onto the dock. Shit. Max's grip slipped and he cried out at the strain it put on his arms to hang on, digging his fingers into the wood. Double shit. Max lifted his head as he heard Gwen calling for him over the rain. He glanced back at Daniel, who was giving him a murderous look.

"You let go, you die!" he threatened, but it didn't really feel like a threat. It felt more like a plea, his last bargain. Max turned his head back towards the camp as he heard his name again, this time it was Nikki and Neil calling. The rain had stopped and his grip was still slipping as Daniel grabbed onto the back of his shirt, his other hand reaching around for the wooden beams. As his eyes landed on the reaching hand, Max felt something in his chest settle. He'd never felt so certain in his life.

"Fine," Max said lowly, feeling Daniel freeze. He looked over his shoulder at him, steeling his resolve as much as he could, pretending he didn't fear what was coming. Daniel was the one looking scared now. "But if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me, asshole." And with that, Max let go of the pole and took his last breath before feeling the cold water envelop them both.

Everything went dark and all sound muffled instantly. It hadn't even been five seconds and Max could already feel his lungs trying to explode. At least that's what he thought they were doing. An arm wrapped around his chest and yanked hard, pulling Max further into the water. He swore Daniel's nails felt like claws through his shirt and he was surprised there wasn't blood.

His thoughts cut off as he let out a gurgle of air, watching the bubbles rise to the surface. It wasn't very far, in fact it probably wasn't even a foot above them. There was no way the rope was holding him down that bad, was it? He felt Daniel dig his nails into his chest and pull again, another hand was holding tightly to his arm. The idiot was keeping himself there. Max didn't care that they were dying, he'd always said eternal nothingness was gonna be great, didn't he?

Max struggled despite himself, trying to force Daniel to loosen his grip, but the hold didn't give, instead it tightened significantly. Max grunted as the last of his breath went with the tightened grip and he felt like his lungs were trying to tie into a knot. Maybe drowning wasn't the best way to go, not that he had been given a choice.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the feeling of his lungs trying to collapse. He felt Daniel go limp behind him, his grip slackening, and there was the vague idea that he should start swimming. But as quick as the idea came, his lungs forced him to inhale deeply, despite the lack of air.

The water _burned_ like fire and Max's eyes shot open as he gasped in pain, allowing more water into his lungs. He squeezed his eyes shut again, unable to feel as Daniel completely let him go. A hand tried to reach for his throat like it might help somehow. It didn't. For a second Max wondered if anyone would miss him, then he wasn't wondering anything at all.

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 **And that's a wrap!**

 **Thanks for reading, please review, be good and if you can't be good dont get caught**


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